Source: PC World – July 2003
PC World was probably the most popular PC magazine throughout much of the 1990s and beyond. However, by 2003 I was mostly just reading Maximum PC which was more of an “enthusiast” magazine. The July 2003 issue of PC world includes:
Features
- Best of 2003 – July seems a bit early to have a best of the year feature to me but I guess that’s just how PC World did things. Winners include:
- Best Entertainment PC: ABS Media Center PC 8500 featuring a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 for $1799
- Product of the Year: T-Mobile Sidekick ($300)
- Best Desktop Power PC: Dell Dimension 8300
- Best Input Device: Logitech Cordless Elite Duo (wireless mouse and keyboard, $100)
- Best Operating System: Windows XP Professional ($299)
- Best Ink Jet Printer: Canon i850 ($170)
- Best Digital Camera: The 5 megapixel Olympus C-5050 Zoom ($799)
- Best Router/Gateway: Linksys WRT54G ($130) – I had one of these for a long time.
- Best Personal Storage Device: M-Systems DiskOnKey 512MB (USB flash drive, $250)
- Best LCD Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 172T ($680)
- …and much more.
- One-Stop Digital Photography Guide – A digital photography guide that includes advice for choosing a digital camera, organizing your digital photos, printing your photos, and more.
- Pest Zappers – A review and comparison of sever anti-virus software packages including EXtendia AVK Professional, F-Secure Anti-Virus 2003, GeCad Software RAV AntiVirus Desktop for Windows 8.6, Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal 4, McAfee VirusScan 7 Home Edition, Panda Software Antivirus Platinum 7, Norton AntiVirus 2003, and Trend Micro PC-cillin 2003.
- One PC With Everything – go Go! – A review and comparison of desktop replacement notebooks including the Acer TravelMate 655LCi, Alienware Area-51m, Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch), Dell Inspiron 8500, Gateway 600X, Toshiba Satellite 2455-S305 (Best Buy), and ABS Awesome 3450. The “Best Buy” Toshiba includes a 2.4-GHz Pentium 4, 15-inch screen, 512 MB RAM, and 60 GB hard drive.
Top 100
- Pentium M Has Juice – New Pentium M based laptops impress with battery life.
- Top 15 Desktops – The top power system this month is the ABS Awesome 3450 featuring an Athlon XP 3000+, 1 GB DDR400 RAM, 128MB Sapphire Radeon 9700 Pro, and more for $1929. The top value system is the ABS Awesome 3380 featuring an Athlon XP 2800+, 512 MB DDR400 RAM, 128MB ATI Radeon 9700 Pro and more for $1749. The top corporate PC is the Compaq Evo D510 Convertible Minitower featuring a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB DDR266 RAM, 64MB NVidia Quadro4 200NVS, and more for $2012.
- Top 15 Notebook PCs – The Top Power Notebook is the IBM ThinkPad T40 featuring a 1.6 GHz Pentium M and 512 MB RAM for $3249. The top Value Notebook is the Compaq Presario 2100Z featuring a Mobile Athlon 4 XP 1800+ and 512 MB RAM for for $1024.
- Top 10 Ink Jet Printers – The winner this month is the Canon i320 Color Bubble Jet Printer for $55.
- Top 10 CRT Monitors – The top 19-inch CRT monitor this month is the Samsun SyncMaster 957mb for $319.
- Top 10 DVD Drives – The best DVD/RW drive this month is the Sony DRU-510A for $330.
Departments
- Up Front – Predictions for best products in 2004 including an OLED equipped camera, reliable wireless router, broadband on airplanes, a great phone that is also a great PDA, and more.
- Letters – Reader letters about wiping data from old drives, reducing spam, the death of Adam Osborne, and more.
- Plugged In – News and rumors including a pilot program providing broadband access via power lines, laws cracking down on spammers, Sony’s new Blu-ray recorder, AMD’s new 64-bit Opteron, and more.
- Consumer Watch – Be careful buying the latest high-tech gadgets. They may not come with needed accessories.
- Home Office – Ways to move large files. Options presented here include using Outlook Express 6’s feature to break files up and e-mail them, uploading to a web site, using Yahoo’s Briefcase, and using various web services that charge a nominal fee.
- Bugs and Fixes – New patches for IE, Outlook and Windows that address security problems.
- Full Disclosure – Lamenting the leaky mess that is PC security.
News & Trends
- E-Mail Evolves – New programs and web services offer more ways to control, sort and search your e-mail.
- AMD Keeps Its Value Crown – A look at the new Athlon XP 3200+ and a couple of PCs based on it including the Poly 880NF3-3200 and Sys Performance 3200+.
- Flash-Memory Bargains Bloom – Bargain is a relative term. Flash memory was rapidly declining in price but was still very expensive compared to today. For example, new 512MB and 1GB SD cards were expected to cost $170 and $330.
- 1GB CD-RW Drives: Take a Pass – New CDRW drives offered ways to store up to 1GB on a standard CD but weren’t very fast…or compatible.
- NVidia’s FX 5900: Slim Edge, Steep Price – The new FX 5900 Ultra was the fastest chip around for gaming but was only slightly faster than its predecessor and cost a pretty penny ($400-$500).
New Products
- Personal Digital Assistants – A look at some of the latest PDAs including the Palm Zire 71, Palm Tungsten Z, and the Toshiba Pocket PC E755.
- Remote-Access Software – A look at new software for remote access including LapLink Everywhere 2.01 and PCAnywhere 11.
- Scanner – A look at the Fujitsu ScanSnap, a sheet-fed document scanner for $495.
- Music Services – A look at new online music services including FullAudio’s MusicNow, MusicNet on AOL, and iTunes Music Store.
- Graphics Board – A look at ATI’s Radeon 9600 Pro.
Here’s How
- Windows Tips – Tips for password protecting files and folders, stopping Windows Messenger from launching, and more.
- Step-By-Step – A guide to building your own PC.
- Internet Tips – Tips for making money on eBay.
- Hardware Tips – A guide to buying a used PC.
- Answer Line – Readers ask which background programs/processes can be closed in Windows, why a PC keeps rebooting, whether or not a PC should be shut down for the day, and more.
…and more!
